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Book Review – Darkfever

The most hyped book(s) on the internet, every year, in my circle of friends, is usually the Fever series. I have friends who re-read it every year. I know some new to the series who fall in love with it. I even know one person who has a shelf named after Jericho.
(You know you who are. I’m all for the idea, by the way.)

The point is, this is one of those must-read series on the level of Kate Daniels etc. and I didn’t go in expecting that much, but one can never be prepared for the whining, annoying, massively stupid and judgmental creature that is MacKayla Lane. It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to kill someone this badly.

Before I get to the problem of Mac though, a quick explanation on why I’m still reading this.

1. The plot is undeniably interesting. The Fae lore is well built, the mystery is gripping and Moning keeps just enough hidden to make you curious. What exactly is Jericho Barrons? Who and what murdered Alina? WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT THAT BOOK RIGHT NOW?

2. Jericho Barrons is way cool. While I’m not considering adding him to my book boyfriends list anytime soon, Barrons is a genuinely charismatic hero. But the real reason I’m a fan of JB is because he is eminently sensible. It’s not that he lacks feelings, but he will always make rational decisions that I can get behind. And in comparison to Mac, this stands out all the more.

3. V’lane is YUM. I know. I know. But I can’t help myself. I like my fictional guys morally questionable, okay?

This is all well and good. But Mac renders this book nigh unreadable. I can’t seem to find the words to describe precisely how much I need to beat her up. I’m younger than Mac in the first book, and I felt so old watching her make these incredibly juvenile opinions and decisions. She is in no way relatable.

It’s hard to make a case when I can’t really remember lines to give evidence (it was a library book) but one of the things that got to me most was Mac’s superficiality. I have nothing against a girl that likes to wear pink and do her nails. What I don’t like is her putting down other people for not looking or being like her. From the first page, Mac is constantly going on about how attractive and fashion conscious she is. There’s self confidence and then there’s plain vanity. She is obsessed with proving that she is the peak of feminine beauty and that all the guys want her. It’s very off-putting.

One particular incident that stood out was when Mac cuts off her hair and wears more drab clothes, which results in her observing that no one on the street notices her. She says something along the lines of “so this is what ugly people feel like.” I don’t understand this; how is wear not-pink clothes the definition of ugliness? Even worse is Mac’s judgment that people who don’t look like her are ugly.

This is all the more surprising in the light of Mac’s ever present preaching on how the present generation is deteriorating. I agree with some of Mac’s observations on the prominence of TV and so on, but Mac is herself guilty of the superficiality and materialism of the people she’s criticising. Not all of us are hung up on these things Mac accuses us of. So far, nothing has proved Mac and her upbringing superior in the fashion she thinks it to be.

I really just want to punch her.

The verdict: good action, great pacing, terrible heroine. Three stars because it made me want to read the sequel, so there must something there.